UK Boxing

In all honesty, Sky need Hearn and Hearn needs Sky.

You'll struggle to sell a product without a good salesman but likewise there's no point being a good salesman if people can't see or hear you.

 

Fewer promoters and channels. It's that simple. The fanbase and talent base isn't deep enough for what we currently have.

 

I'm surprised Sky have put all their faith in Ben Shalom.

They are still the top dogs in boxing and have chosen an unknown guy with no charisma.
To sell big shows you want someone with personality.

I was hoping Frank would be back at Sky as he has some decent fighters and knows the game inside out.

And the Sauerland brothers would have been an exciting move- Kalle in particular comes across great and would connect well with the fans

 

Frank would have been the best option. He'd have a better budget than on BT and together with his mate Bob Arum they could have put on some good stuff. I'd go as far as saying Queensberry combined with Top Rank on Sky would have outgrown Matchroom in the UK.

Kalle would have been good too.

Shalom just comes across a bit of a yes man for Adam Smith.

 

Yes I think you are right with that- maybe Sky/Adam felt betrayed by Eddie so wanted someone low key who they can keep in their pocket and (hopefully) won't get too big for his boots

 

We need better talent and less promoters with big TV deals

 

Bring back Kelly Maloney

 

Parker signing with Boxxer to fight Whyte instead of Joyce/Dubois is a big yawn.

AJ if he has signed an absolute exclusivity with DAZN could kill future fights.

All the Probelum Olympians fighting with 0 people watching on an internet stream.

Franks offerings are picking up but has been dismal the start of the year, and had some bad luck

 

In theory competition is supposed to produce a better product but Hearn’s move to DAZN has stressed the supply chain I.e. the talent pool of UK boxers available. With Queensbury , Matchroom ,Boxxer ,Wasserman and Probelleum and trying to satisfy their respective broadcasters is it any wonder that a lot of the undercards are poor ? The argument might be that it gives boxers more opportunities but does the consumer want to pay ?

 

Maybe there's just a gap in talent at the moment? Some big characters and skilful fighters have retired in recent years - Froch, Groves, DeGale, Brook and Khan. Perhaps we are just waiting for the next gen to fully develop. Guys like Riakporhe and Buatsi are brilliant fighters but just don't seem to have the charisma/personality to sell fights like Chris Eubank Sr or Prince Nas did.

 

Adam "Bomber" Smith would have been better as the mouthpiece

 

I don't mind the positivity coming from Adam Smith in most of his interviews, but when he talks about how healthy it is that there are more cards to watch as fans, it doesn't take into consideration that it's now even more difficult to arrange fights between boxers from different stables with their own TV rights.

 

I think we all need to get used to a new time in professional boxing. I have heard rumors about at least 2 streaming services that will focus on professional boxing (one established and one brand new) in the future. It will be even more fragmented compared to what we experience today.

 

Eventually everyone in the country will be their own boxing promoter. 60 million of them, each with an exclusive broadcasting deal with their own twitch account. Think of the possibilities. Imagine the banter as every single interaction between anyone could conceivably be considered part of the 'narrative'.

The only people to miss out will be the boxers as no promoter will have any budget to put on a fight. But again, think of the banter.